This invention relates to a process for preparing roasted, coated nuts and is more particularly concerned with a process for preparing honey-roasted nuts wherein the coating is tightly adherent and with the nuts so prepared.
A variety of goods, including nuts such as peanuts and cashews, and meats such as chicken and ham have been roasted, fried or otherwise cooked after coating with a honey-containing solution. Because the honey is in direct contact with the food, it serves to transfer heat from the heat source to the food (i.e., it is the heat transfer agent). Accordingly, these products are variously referred to as honey-fried, honey-baked, or honey-roasted. The present invention provides improvements in honey roasting nuts.
A recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,545 to Green et al describes the preparation of honey-roasted nuts by coating raw nuts with a mixture of water and honey, enrobing the coated nuts with a dry mixture containing about 84-92% by weight of sugar and about 8-16% by weight of starch, the particle size in the mixture being in the range of 0.002 inch to 0.02 inch, and then roasting the coated nuts using either oil or dry roasting conditions. It is stated that, in contrast to the use of adhesive solutions containing dextrose or corn syrup (which are said to give a dark brown color to the roasted nut) and coating solutions containing sucrose and dextrose (which are said to give a light colored roasted nut), the use of the honey-water coating solution gives a more appealing honey color and pleasant taste to the roasted nut.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,758 to Morris has stated that honey in liquid form is disadvantageous for use in coating nuts. To achieve a uniform coating which has a noticeable honey flavor and yet is suitably adhesive, Morris teaches a two-stage coating procedure which employs no honey in a first stage coating and honey in dry form in a second stage. Unfortunately, the use of dry honey has several disadvantages versus liquid honey, including its relatively high cost, its diminished concentration of some flavor notes, and its reduced adhesive power.
Yet more recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,820 to Tong describes the preparation of honey-roasted nuts with a glazed surface appearance. The single stage coating process calls for coating nuts with an aqueous solution comprising 10-20% honey and 50-70% sucrose, and then drying and roasting. And, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,833, Sharma states that where honey coatings are applied prior to roasting, difficulties are encountered both with coating properties and product flavor. To correct for this, Sharma discloses applying a coating slurry after partial roasting, the coating containing only a low level of honey and requiring the presence of an oil to achieve desired flow properties.
In direct contrast to the teachings of the teachings of these patents, it has been found that a process, which is described in detail below and which includes the application of a coating comprising corn syrup and sucrose in addition to liquid honey prior to roasting, provides a roasted nut having highly advantageous properties including excelent adherence of the coating, eye appeal, flavor and storage stability, and that the inclusion of starch or dry honey in the final dry coating can be eliminated.